California Department of Transportation

WORK BEGINS ON FINAL PHASE OF PROJECT UPGRADING KEY CENTRAL VALLEY HIGHWAY

STANISLAUS COUNTY - Caltrans and its partners, the Stanislaus Council of Governments, Stanislaus County, and the city of Modesto, broke ground today on a $44 million project that will help relieve traffic congestion on State Route 219, one of the main highways connecting Modesto, Oakdale, and Riverbank in the Central Valley.

“Projects like this keep the region moving and help us build the road to economic growth,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.

The project will double the size of SR-219, widening the highway from two lanes to four lanes along a two-mile section between Morrow Road and McHenry Avenue (State Route 108). Crews will also resurface the existing lanes to provide motorists a smoother ride.

Other improvements include new traffic signals at Carver Road and Tully Road; a new bike lane along the entire length of the project; and two new left turn lanes at the intersection of SR-219 and McHenry Avenue. Drivers on SR-219 heading eastward will no longer have to line up behind motorists waiting to make a left turn.

The project received approximately $20 million from Proposition 1B, a 2006 voter-approved transportation bond. To date, nearly $15 billion in Proposition 1B funds have been distributed statewide.

The first stage of the project, completed in 2010, widened three miles of SR-219 from State Route 99 to Morrow Road.

When the final phase is completed in the fall of 2015, nearly five miles of the highway will have been widened between McHenry Avenue and SR-99.